STORY: "Mortal Coils" (22 pages)
Credits: Scott Lobdell (writer), John Romita, Jr (penciller), Dan Green (inker), Chris Eliopoulos (letterer), Steve Buccellato (as "S Bucce"; colourist), Bob Harras (editor), Tom DeFalco (editor-in-chief)

Archangel takes Jean Grey to his mountain retreat for the weekend, and they find his dead girlfriend Candy Southern waiting for him. She is now a techno-organic being linked to his archenemy Cameron Hodge, and she commits suicide to defeat Hodge.

What you need to know:

• After Cameron Hodge killed Candy Southern (in X-Factor #34), she was re-created as a techno-organic copy. (Probably. The story's a bit ambiguous as to whether she's the original or a copy, but seems to lean towards the latter.) She kills herself again.
• Cameron Hodge is now also a techno-organic being, which is quite a change since we last saw him as a severed head at the end of the X-Tinction Agenda crossover. (Hodge can't be killed because of a magical charm of sorts which he acquired during his time as an X-Factor villain.)
• All of the above is, of course, to do with the continuing development of the Phalanx, and things have come on enormously since the tissue people from the previous issue. Although since Candy is apparently able to tear out her techno-organic components, these people still aren't quite there yet. For some reason, the Phalanx are taking an interest in turning allies of the X-Men into Phalanx members, though quite why they'd want to go to so much effort to do that is a bit perplexing.
• Professor X starts training in the Danger Room to fight Magneto personally. The Beast and Quicksilver both express concern at this development in his personality, probably because it suggests the Professor isn't approaching Magneto with quite the detachment he ought to.
• Forge and Storm go on a date and have a reconciliation. This never really heads anywhere, actually, but there you go.

Comments: More development of the ongoing Phalanx plot, serving mainly to reintroduce Cameron Hodge as a major villain. Since Hodge is primarily Archangel's nemesis, it makes sense to play this largely as his story and to drag in one of his old supporting cast, and Lobdell does get some mileage out of Archangel's angst.

On the other hand... it's all a little neat that the cast should all end up at this rarely seen house on the same day, which also just happens to be the first anniversary of Candy's death. Lobdell also goes overboard on the "witty" comments for Hodge, and gives him some very wordy dialogue which doesn't really make him work as a real threat. The art is having a mixed time as well - Romita does some wonderful visuals for the techno-organics, but makes a bit of a hash of the closing fight scene. There's also a garish piece of colouring on the flashback (dayglo pastel is perhaps the best way of describing it). An okay story, but flawed.

Feature characters: Professor X (next in Wolverine: Evilution b/s, then in X-Men Vol 2 #25, then in Wolverine #104 f/b, then in X-Men Vol 2 #25, then in Wolverine #75, then in Excalibur #71, then in X-Men Annual Vol 2 #2, then in Avengers Vol 1 #368), Storm (next in X-Men Vol 2 #25, then in Avengers Vol 1 #368), Bishop (next in X-Men Vol 2 #25, then in Wolverine #75, then in Avengers #368), the Beast (last in issue #304; next in X-Men Vol 2 #25, then in Wolverine #75, then in X-Men Annual Vol 2 #2, then in X-Men Annual Vol 2 #2/2, then in Avengers Vol 1 #368), Jean Grey (last in issue #304, then in X-Men Vol 2 #25, then in Wolverine #75, then in Excalibur #71, then in X-Men Annual Vol 2 #2, then in Avengers Vol 1 #368), Archangel (last in issue #304; next in X-Men Vol 2 #25; after the above, all six appear in X-Men Vol 2 #26, then in Avengers West Coast #101)

Supporting character: "Candy Southern" (first appearance; dies)

Villains: The Phalanx (next in issue #308); Cameron Hodge (last in X-Factor #62; first appearance as a member of the Phalanx; next in issue #313)

Guest appearances: Quicksilver (last in issue #304) and Forge (last in X-Factor #95; both next in X-Men Vol 2 #25)

STORY: "Bloodties, Part 4: Night And Fog" (22 pages)
Credits: Scott Lobdell (writer), John Romita Jr (penciller), Dan Green (inker), Chris Eliopoulos (letterer), Steve Buccellato, Kevin Somers (colourists), Bob Harras (editor), Tom DeFalco (editor-in-chief)

BLOODTIES, PART 4 The X-Men and the Avengers go to Genosha and don't achieve a great deal to stop the ongoing civil war. Terrified of Exodus, Fabian Cortez kidnaps Luna Maximoff in order to blackmail her parents (Quicksilver and Crystal) into fighting Exodus for him.

What you need to know:

• Ah, Bloodties. This is Uncanny X-Men's contribution to a widely-panned crossover between the X-Men and Avengers crossovers, which fails mainly because of a lack of proper co-ordination between the creators of the different chapters leading to awful plot holes. But let's take a look at the individual chapter anyway.
• Plenty on Exodus this issue. Firstly, he actually holds Sersi (an extremely powerful Avenger) to a draw in a straight fight, which firmly establishes that he's very, very powerful indeed.
• Secondly, the Black Knight recognises Exodus from somewhere. This is eventually explained in Black Knight: Exodus some years later, where it's revealed that before his superhuman powers emerged, Exodus was a crusader who met the Black Knight during one of his time travels to that era.
• According to the narrator, Exodus has spent a lifetime sequestered, preparing to become the living messiah for the mutant race.
• Interestingly, Fabian Cortez tells us that Magneto would never have recruited Exodus if he'd suspected who or what Exodus really was. Evidently this is information he's acquired since he last saw Exodus in issue #304, at which point he didn't seem anywhere near so disturbed by him. Having said that, Cortez is pretty obviously going mad in this story, so you may not want to trust him too much.
• The Black Widow tells the UN that the Avengers will interfere in Genosha whether they like it or not. Except for Hawkeye, the Avengers obviously have misgivings about this. Understandably, given the possible implications of a team like the Avengers making up their own laws - see Warren Ellis's excellent StormWatch and Authority series for examples.
• And most of the other X-Men and Avengers just wander around bemoaning the state of the Genoshan people.

Comments: As an individual chapter, this isn't too bad - it's the overall story that lets it down. In particular, the previous part had devoted quite some space to Professor X shaking off the USAgent, yet the USAgent is right back with him at the beginning of this story.

Like most Genosha stories, this is an unremittingly grim affair. Many of the cast spend their time wandering through concentration camps or the sites of terrorist mass murders (the story wisely includes atrocities by both sides) telling us how horrific it all is. Since the Genoshan setting allows this to be done in the context of a full-scale civil war, for once the X-Men's reaction seems entirely appropriate. More interesting, though, is the significant development given to Exodus in this story, making it clear that by this stage the creators had at least some clearer idea of who he was than just a powerful sidekick for Magneto.

There's also some fairly good material for Fabian Cortez, who quite understandably reacts to the total collapse of all his carefully laid plans by having a breakdown. Lobdell arguably pushes it a bit further than he should have, but the idea's good.

Feature characters: Professor X (next in Avengers Vol 1 #369, then in X-Force #27, then in Cable #7-8), Cyclops, Jean Grey (both next in Avengers Vol 1 #369, then in Cable #6-8), the Beast, Iceman, Rogue (the latter three next in Avengers Vol 1 #369, then in X-Men Vol 2 #27), Gambit, Bishop, Archangel, Storm (the latter four next in Avengers Vol 1 #369; all last in Avengers West Coast #101)

Guest stars: Captain America I, the Black Widow, Giant-Man I, Spider-Woman II, the Scarlet Witch, the Vision, the USAgent, Hercules, the Black Knight IV, Sersi, War Machine, Hawkeye I, Crystal (as the Avengers), Quicksilver (all between Avengers West Coast #101 and Avengers Vol 1 #369)

Supporting characters: Revanche, Jenny Ransome, Philip Moreau (all three between Avengers West Coast #101 and Avengers Vol 1 #369)

Villains: Fabian Cortez, Exodus (both between Avengers West Coast #101 and Avengers Vol 1 #369)

Guest appearance: Luna Maximoff (between Avengers West Coast #101 and Avengers Vol 1 #369)

STORY: "Mixed Blessings" (21 pages)
Credits: Scott Lobdell (writer), John Romita Jr (penciller), Dan Green, Al Vey (inkers), Chris Eliopoulos (letterer), Steve Buccellato (colourist), Bob Harras (editor), Tom DeFalco (editor-in-chief)

The X-Men enjoy Thanksgiving. Jean and Scott become engaged.

What you need to know:

• Er, Scott agrees to marry Jean. That's pretty much it.
• In a throwaway comment, Bishop mentions Emplates for the first time. The original Emplate debuts in Generation X #1, a few months later.
• Oh, and an ordinary man goes off to join the Phalanx.

Comments: This being the issue after a crossover, and this being a Scott Lobdell story, it's a nice quiet issue at the mansion. The main purpose of the story is to set up Scott and Jean's wedding, something which the creators seem to have done as a stunt rather than because they had any particular plot to hang on it. Certainly Scott and Jean were so firmly entrenched as a couple already that it's difficult to get very worked up about it. It's not as if it makes a blind bit of difference at the end of the day.

Aside from that, it's a very mixed bag. John Romita Jr is having a particularly patchy day and produces some hideously distorted characters at several points. The letterer misses out a vital speech balloon from the proposal scene (you can get the full panel in the letters column of issue #310, if you're so inclined). And Bishop's culture shock degenerates into self-parody, as he's seemingly unable to grasp the concept of a scarecrow even when it's explained to him. Not great.

Feature characters: Professor X (next in X-Men Unlimited #3, then in X-Men Vol 2 #28), Jean Grey (next in X-Men Vol 2 #28; both also in f/b following Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1 and preceding Marvels #2), Cyclops (next in X-Men Vol 2 #28, then in X-Men Vol 2 #29, then in issue #310; all three last in Cable #8); Bishop (next in X-Men Unlimited #3, then in issue #310), Gambit (next in X-Men Unlimited #3, then in X-Men Vol 2 #28-32, then in issue #312), Storm (next in X-Men Vol 2 #28, then in Annual #18; all three last in Avengers Vol 2 #369); Jubilee (last in X-Men Annual Vol 2 #2; next in X-Men Vol 2 #28-29, then in Annual #18); Iceman (next in issue #310), the Beast (next in X-Men Unlimited #3, then in X-Men Vol 3 #28-29, then in Annual #18), Rogue (next in X-Men Unlimited #3, then in X-Men Vol 2 #28, 30, then in X-Men Unlimited #4, then in X-Men Vol 2 #31-34, then in Cable #16, then in X-Factor #108, then in X-Men Vol 2 #38, then in Rogue #1-4, then in issue #319), Psylocke (next in X-Men Vol 2 #28, then concurrently in X-Men Vol 2 #29 and X-Force #32, then in X-Mem Vol 2 #32, 34, then in Wolverine #85, then in Cable #16, then in Excalibur Annual #2, then in Bishop #4, then in X-Men Vol 2 #38, then in issue #319; the latter four last in X-Men Vol 2 #27)

Supporting characters: Revanche (between X-Men Vol 2 #27-28); the Banshee (between X-Men Annual Vol 2 #2 and X-Men Vol 2 #28); Forge (between X-Factor #98-99); William Drake, Madeline Drake (both between issues #290 and #319); Moira MacTaggert (between X-Men Annual Vol 2 #2 and X-Men Vol 2 #28); Trish Tilby (between X-Men Vol 2 #26 and X-Men Prime); Steve Hunter (between issue #300 and Annual #18)

Villains: The Phalanx (b/s between issues #306 and #311); Harvest (first appearance; real name unrevealed; next in issue #316)

STORY: "When The Tigers Come At Night" (20 pages)
Credits: Scott Lobdell (writer), John Romita Jr (penciller), Dan Green, Jon Holdredge (inkers), Chris Eliopoulos (letterer), Steve Buccellato (colourist), Bob Harras (editor), Tom DeFalco (editor-in-chief)

Professor X dreams about Magneto and Amelia Voght.

What you need to know:

• A really odd one, this. The entire issue is Xavier dreaming that he's having an argument with Magneto. However, it appears that we're supposed to take all of this at face value, and so here's the information that gets revealed.
• It's confirmed that Magneto was the unidentified man who saved Professor X's life in X-Men Unlimited #1.
• Professor X is resentful about Scott and Jean's wedding because he sees it as symbolic of everything he gave up by devoting his life to the X-Men. Naturally, he pretends he's very keen on the marriage.
• Professor X's mother, Sharon Xavier, was beaten by her second husband Kurt Marko, and turned to alcohol. The Professor feels guilty for not protecting her. (This is quite a significant scene, drastically altering what we know about Xavier's upbringing.)
• The Professor met Amelia Voght when she was working in India as a nurse. He was taken to the hospital where she worked after he was left paralysed following his battle with Lucifer (in issue #20). They fell in love but she abandoned him when he decided to form the X-Men, believing that the X-Men would simply heighten tension and make matters worse, and that mutants should stay in the closet. Xavier used his telepathic powers to try and make her stay before realising what he was doing.
• There's obviously a big gap between Amelia's attitudes as revealed here, and anything that might drive her to join the Acolytes - something that is going to have to be addressed at some point.
• If you were really charitable, you could read this as subtle foreshadowing of the Onslaught storyline, where Onslaught turned out to be a mixture of parts of Xavier and Magneto created after Xavier wiped Magneto's mind in X-Men Vol 2 #25. Except of course we know the creators didn't come up with that plot for years.

Comments: A weird one, this, but with a lot to recommend it. Lobdell does a good job at illustrating the levels of self-delusion which Professor X has got in place to maintain his self-image, and the idea that Xavier is resentful towards his pupils for not living such a wholly duty-driven life as he does (particularly his ever-loyal lapdogs Scott and Jean) is marvellous. The Amelia Voght flashback has a lot to recommend it as well. Definitely one of Lobdell's strongest stories.

Romita's art is back on form after the previous month, although this issue does stem from a thoroughly annoying period when he kept drawing the occasional page sideways. This didn't help storytelling at all and just resulted in readers having to keep swivelling the book about.

Feature characters: Professor X (also in f/b between pages of X-Men Unlimited #1; also in f/b between panels of issue #12 f/b; also in f/b between panels of issue #12 f/b again; also in f/b between pages of issue #161 f/b; also in f/b following issue #20 f/b and preceding Classic X-Men #42/2; also in f/b between panels of issue #42/2), Jean Grey (both last in X-Men Vol 2 #28; both next in X-Men Vol 2 #29, then in Annual #18)

Supporting character: Amelia Voght (in f/b preceding issue #300; appears during this f/b in X-Men Vol 2 #-1, then b/s in issue #38/2)

FIRST STORY: "Trust Is A Two-Edged Sword" (38 pages)
Credits: Glenn Herdling (writer), Ian Churchill (penciller), Hilary Barta, Bud LaRosa (inkers), Richard Starkings (letterer), Dana Moreshead, Mike Thomas (colourists), Lisa Patrick (editor), Bob Harras (group editor), Tom DeFalco (editor-in-chief)

Caliban kidnaps Jubilee and demands that the X-Men turn Sabretooth over to him. Shadowcat and Sabretooth go into the Morlock tunnels to deal with him.

What you need to know:

• Evidently Caliban is still obsessed with Sabretooth, who was one of the Marauders responsible for the massacre of his Morlock community, and Shadowcat, who he's hopelessly in love with.
• Sabretooth saves Shadowcat and Caliban from a giant sewer octopus (yes, I know, I know), but apparently only because he plans to use Shadowcat's phasing power to shut down his electronic manacles and escape.
• The closing narration describes this story's effect on Caliban as "the passing of the final Horseman [of Apocalypse] and the birth of the Hound", although it's far from clear what that's supposed to mean, especially in the light of subsequent stories.
• Oh, and the comic being mocked by some kids around a campfire on page 1 appears to be Rob Liefeld's New Mutants #100, which is understandable.

Comments: Well, you do have to wonder what it's doing in Uncanny X-Men, don't you? A story starring Caliban, Shadowcat, Sabretooth and one X-Man who usually appears in the other book. Great. Nor is it a particularly good one - although Caliban's attempt to get at Sabretooth makes sense, Caliban's speech patterns and motivations seem to be all over the place, and it's difficult to connect this man with the character we've seen before.

Ian Churchill's art is patchy. His rather thuggish Sabretooth is pretty good, but his women are annoyingly skinny, and his little scratchy lines are just plain annoying - Xavier in particular looks like he's been headbutting a griddle. Anyhow, as you've probably come to expect from Annuals, this is inconsequential but not too bad.

Feature characters: Professor X (next in X-Men Vol 2 #30, then in X-Factor #101-102, then in X-Factor Annual #9, then in X-Men Vol 2 #31-32, then in issue #312), Jubilee (next in X-Men Vol 2 #30, then in issue #311), the Beast (next in issue #310), Jean Grey (next in X-Men Vol 2 #30, then in Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix #1, then in Cable #16 f/b, then in Marvel Valentine Special #1 f/b, then in Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix #2-4, then in X-Men Vol 2 #35, then in issue #316; all last in X-Men Vol 2 #29); Storm (last in X-Men Vol 2 #28; next in X-Men Vol 2 #30, then in X-Factor #101-102, then in issue #311)

Guest star: Shadowcat (between Excalibur #74 and Cable #9)

Supporting character: Stevie Hunter (between issue #308 and X-Men Vol 2 #30)

Villains: Sabretooth (between X-Men Vol 2 #29 and issue #310); Caliban (between X-Factor #84 and Cable #17)

STORY: "Show Me The Way To Go Home" (22 pages)
Credits: Scott Lobdell (writer), John Romita Jr (penciller), Dan Green (inker), Chris Eliopoulos (letterer), Steve Buccellato (colourist), Bob Harras (editor), Tom DeFalco (editor-in-chief)

Cable visits the mansion to talk to Cyclops about their relationship. They join forces to stop the X-Cutioner from killing Emma Frost.

What you need to know:

• There's a lot of stuff in here about Cyclops and Cable's relationship. Cable was obviously amazed to get an invitation out of the blue to Scott's wedding when he doesn't really regard Scott as a father figure. As for Scott, a flashback following on from X-Factor #68 (where he sent the infant Cable into the future to save his life) shows him substantially more affected by the experience than we'd seen in the original story. In fact, sections of this story read like a slight swipe at X-Factor #68 for underdoing Scott's reaction.
• In a slightly contrived sequence, Scott says that he wishes he had been there to act as a father to Cable, and Cable replies that there were two people who did that for him. We'll find out in a couple of months time that these people actually were Scott and Jean, travelling through time in Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix #1-4. Surprisingly, Cable claims not to be able to remember their names, although he might just be sparing Scott's feelings at being replaced by another man in Cable's affections.
• Bishop delivers a dreadful speech (so bad that even the other characters heckle it) explaining that marriage was frowned on in the XSE, and that the closest eqivalent of a bachelor party was something called the Passing. Understandably, nobody shows the faintest interest in this nonsense, which is rapidly starting to seem like Ross from Friends banging on about dinosaurs.
• Interestingly, it's Sabretooth who alerts Cyclops and Cable to the X-Cutioner's arrival in the X-Men's Mansion. He claims that he does this because he can detect, by scent alone, that the X-Cutioner is carrying enough ordnance to destroy the building, but we don't necessarily have to believe him about this.
• From the way he's acting at Scott's bachelor party, it looks like Gambit is trying to stir up the other X-Men against Sabretooth. Ironically (in the light of subsequent stories), it's Archangel who tells Gambit to shut up, claiming that he doesn't care what Gambit's past connection with Sabretooth is. This isn't what he'll say in issue #350 when he finds out what it is.
• If you care about such things, the X-Cutioner reveals that Emma Frost's middle name is Grace.
• One wonders quite how much the X-Cutioner knows about Emma. For some reason, he regards her biggest crime as failing to prevent the deaths of the Hellions, which of course isn't a crime at all. You'd have thought he could have come up with something better than that.

Comments: A mixed one, this. The scenes with Scott and Cable talking about their bizarre father-son non-relationship are generally pretty good. Lobdell writes the scene as if he's just doing a story about a child finding the father who abandoned him rather than getting into the problematic stuff about their relative ages, and thereby manages to get some genuine emotional mileage out of a very convoluted area of continuity. There's also some nice moments at the bachelor party.

And then there's the X-Cutioner, who seems to show up here for no terribly good reason other than that there hasn't been a fight scene in the last two issues, so there'd better be one here. Although he's an alright villain, and he tenuously serves as somebody to unite Cable and Cyclops, the subplot with him trying to kill Emma is dull at best. Plus, as noted above, Bishop is now getting seriously annoying.

Feature characters: Cyclops (last in X-Men Vol 2 #29; next in X-Men Vol 2 #30, then in Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix #1, then in Marvel Valentine Special #1 f/b, then in Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix #2-4, then in X-Men Vol 2 #35, then in issue #316; also in f/b between X-Factor #68-69); the Beast (last in Annual #18; next in X-Men Vol 2 #30-32, then in issue #311); Archangel (last in X-Men Vol 2 #29; next in X-Men Vol 2 #30-32, then in issue #314); Gambit (last in X-Men Vol 2 #28; next in X-Men Vol 2 #30-32, then in issue #312); Iceman (last in issue #308; next in X-Men Vol 2 #30); Bishop (last in X-Men Unlimited #3; next in X-Men Vol 2 #30); Jean Grey (as Marvel Girl in f/b between X-Factor #68-69)

Guest star: Cable (between Cable #11 and X-Men Vol 2 #30)

Supporting character: The Banshee (next in X-Men Vol 2 #30)

Villains: The X-Cutioner (last in Annual #17; next in Cable #21); Sabretooth (between Annual #18 and X-Men Vol 2 #30); Emma Frost (last in issue #284)

Guest appearances: Nightcrawler (last in Cable #9), Forge (last in X-Factor #100; both next in X-Men Vol 2 #30)